North Vision Song Contest 19
Mediolanum Forum, Milan Pala Alpitour, Turin |presenters = Alessio Bernabei Federico Russo Sabrina Impacciatore |opening = |host = RAI |interval = |map year = 19 | col1 = #782167 | tag1 = Confirmed countries | col2 = #22b14c | tag2 = Confirmed countries that have selected their song and/or performer | col3 = #ffc20e | tag3 = Past participants that did not participate |entries = 48 |debut = |return = |withdraw = |vote = Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting |null = |winner = |pre = 18 |nex = 20 }} North Vision Song Contest 19, often referred to as NVSC 19, will be the nineteenth edition of the North Vision Song Contest. It was the first time that Italy hosted the contest after Elisa won the eighteenth edition with her song "No Hero". There was no pre-qualification round held this edition, making it the third edition not to have the event following the ninth and fifteenth editions. The contest was held in three difference locations for the first time; Genoa hosted the first semi-final, Milan hosted the second semi-final and Turin hosted the final. RAI selected Federico Russo, Sabrina Impacciatore and Dear Jack lead member Alessio Bernabei as the presenters of the edition. Location Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal climate; due to its shape, it is often referred to in Italy as lo Stivale (the Boot). With 61 million inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous EU member state. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City. Despite winning the previous edition, the Italian broadcaster reported that it is unsure whether the country will be able to host the edition. The broadcaster said that due to budget cuts internally, as well as other expenses, the Italian hosting of the contest was in jeopardy. However, it was revealed later that Italy will host the contest. It was also revealed that the edition would be hosted in three different cities, one for each show. Bidding phase }} After it was speculated that Italy wouldn't be able to host, it was revealed that instead of one city, three cities would host the edition–one for each show of the edition. Cities in Italy could apply to become one of the three host cities of the edition since 28 April 2016. On 4 May 2016, RAI announced the first five cities that had applied to host the edition. The first city that applied was Milan, the second most populous city in the country. The city applied with the Mediolanum Forum which can hold up to 12,700 people. The second venue that entered the bid was PalaLivorno, located in the city of Livorno, with a capacity of 8,000. Turin was the third city that joined the bidding phase. They applied to host with Pala Alpitour, the largest venue in the country with a capacity of 16,000. The capital city of the country, Rome, also joined the bidding phase with PalaLottomatica as their venue which can hold up to 12,200 people. Last city to join the bidding phase was Florence with the Nelson Mandela Forum which has a capacity of 7,500 The rest of the applicants were revealed on 9 May 2016. Turin added one more venue to their application; Torino Palavela with a seating capacity for 8,244 people. Genoa applied to host the event with Palasport di Genova, which can hold up to 10,000 people, as their venue of choice. The last venue to join the bidding phase was Unipol Arena, located in the city of Bologna, with a capacity of 11,000. RAI announced the three host cities and venues during a press conference which was held on 18 May 2016. Palasport di Genova in Genoa was selected for the first semi-final, Mediolanum Forum in Milan for the second semi-final and Pala Alpitour in Turin for the final. Key }} Host venues Format Semi-final allocation draw The draw that determined the semi-final allocation was held on 14 May 2016 at the headquarters of RAI in Rome. The big 6 countries were first drawn to determine in which semi-final each would country vote. The rest of the forty-two countries were divided into six pots, based on their geographical place. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined. The six pots were the following: Running order Unlike the previous editions, it was announced by the NBU that the running order of the semi-finals and the final of the edition would be decided by both the NBU and the host broadcaster RAI. However, it was decided that the draw of the council members would be decided by a random draw. New voting system The NBU announced on 17 May 2016 that there would be a new voting system introduced during the edition, making it the first major voting system change since the first edition. The countries would now award two sets of 1-8, 10 and 12 points; one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. The jury votes will be presented by the spokesperson appointed by each broadcaster with the 1-7 points appearing on screen and 8, 10 and 12 being announced by the spokesperson. After all the jury votes are cast by the participating countries, the hosts will present the televoting results of the countries starting with the country that received the less points to the country that received the most points from televoting. The new voting system also applied to the semi-finals to determine the ten qualifiers but as before the qualifiers are announced in a random order. The Rest of the World jury was also introduced in the edition. The jury will not be included in either the jury or the televoting and will be announced as a separate voter by the presenters at the start of the voting. Viewers from the countries that are not participating will be able to cast their votes and the top ten most voted countries will receive 1-8, 10 and 12 points. Participating countries Forty-eight countries have confirmed to take part in the edition. Three countries returned to the contest: Bulgaria, France and the Netherlands returned to the contest after their one-edition absence. Seven countries, however, announced their withdrawal from the contest. Belarus, Croatia and FYR Macedonia announced their withdrawal citing their Head of Delegation change as the reason, while Ireland and Portugal having finincial issues. Monaco and Morocco have withdrawn without stating a reason. Returning artists Nevena Tsoneva previously attempted to represent Bulgaria in the sixth edition before she was disqualified for her entry breaking the rules. Zuzana Smatanová was selected to represent Slovakia once again after the seventh edition. Domenique is returning to represent Malta this edition after having participated in the eighteenth edition. Rati Durglishvili, the first Georgian artist to make it to the final in the fourteenth edition, was selected to represent his country for second time. Semi-final 1 Estonia, Italy and Norway will also vote in this semi-final. Semi-final 2 Algeria, Andorra and Iceland will also vote in this semi-final. Finalists Incidents Slovak entry change On 30 April 2016, it was announced by Jednotka that their previously announced entry, "Vlasy" by Fallgrapp would be replaced by a new song; Zuzana Smatanová, who previously represented the country in the seventh edition, would perform her song "Horou" instead. However, no reason was given for the entry change. Other countries : Further information: List of countries in the North Vision Song Contest Countries that are active members of the North Broadcasting Union (NBU) are also eligible to participate in the North Vision Song Contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members have been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not. The following list of countries declined stating their reasons as shown below. Active NBU members * : It was announced by the Belarussian broadcaster that the country would withdraw. The broadcaster cited the Head of Delegation change as the reason of their withdrawal. * : Croatian broadcaster HRT announced that the country would not compete in the edition and cited low finances and change within the broadcaster as the reasons of their withdrawal. A return in the twentieth edition wasn't ruled out. * : It was announced by the Macedonian broadcaster that the the country would withdraw due to the resignation of the head of delegation. The country is expected to return in the twentieth edition. * : RTÉ announced through their Twitter account that the country would withdraw from the edition, mainly due to financial issues. However, the broadcaster did not state whether the break would be for one or more editions, thus leaving it unknown whether the country would return or not for the twentieth edition. * : On 29 March 2016, it was announced that the country would not be returning to the contest. Specific reasons for the non-participation were not given by the broadcaster. * : SNRT revealed on 30 April 2016 that the country would withdraw from the edition. However, no reason was given for the country's withdrawal while it wasn't revealed whether the country would return for the next edition. * : It was revealed that the country would withdraw from the edition. The broadcasted cited lack of interest and budget cuts as their reason of withdrawing. NBU non-members * : After last taking part in the sixteenth edition, Nessma confirmed that they have no interest in returning to the contest. External links * Forum Category:Editions